2024 SC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- December 10-15, 2024
- Duna Arena, Budapest, Hungary
- SCM (25m)
- Meet Central
- Roster Index
- SwimSwam Preview Index
- Pick’em
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Prelims Live Recap: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6
- Finals Live Recap: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6
- Complete final results (PDF)
Kate Douglass was one of three American women who earned 7 medals in Budapest last week, amassing 5 individual medals and breaking 4 world records. Douglass emphasized that because the United States largely trains and competes in yards, the world doesn’t often get to see just how good Americans can be in short course. So when USA does compete in short course meters… this happens.
That is why there was that world records explosion of G. Walsh.
Short course specialist without ever having swum in it.
It would be as if prime Phelps had never swum in long course meters until
he was let’s say 23. Of course the first meet he would have entered he
would have set 5+ world records. That was the anomaly.
I remember watching a video of a younger Ryan Lochte swimming a 500 yd freestyle…looked like he was warming up….but clocked in at like 4:13 low (almost 4:12). Put under competition or a big meet, his swim appears like it could’ve easily been 10 seconds faster. Casually going 4:15 is just crazy.
And yes, Phelps would’ve done the same. Imagine a prime Phelps swimming a 200 yd IM…1:36? 1:35 maybe?
That’s because there is no such thing as short course Olympics. That’s why we don’t care kate
I (and a ton of other people) do care
Well deserved rest! Great comments about practices with Gretchen. UVA has amazing competition with all the other girls as well.
Really going to need a SCY worlds again, show these countries who’s boss.
We have the Olympics to see who is ‘boss’. US finished slightly ahead of coutnries with much fewer swimmers and resources. So still boss but the kind of boss that is constantly on his/her toes to make sure nobody takes their job.
I don’t get this whole “USA doesn’t compete in SCM” thing. The entirety of FINA World Cup Circuits, all of ISL, and World Championships every two years, not to mention the dual meets that used to happen regularly.
Most *local* meets are done in SCY or LCM, sure. But like… almost every country that *does* have SCM only competes it for half the season locally anyway (rest is LCM), and not during the championship part of the season anyway (again, that’s done in LCM for a reason), so like… is the comparison here like 5 months worth of mere local/national warm-up/early-season SCM meets?
SCM isn’t prioritized by the US, we rarely send swimmers of a Kate or Gretchen tapered to a SCM worlds
many other countries didnt send their best this time.
I feel like you answered your own question here. World Cup is lightly attended by US swimmers due to the NCAA season and its placement earlier in the swimming year, ISL doesn’t exist anymore, Duel in the Pool doesn’t exist any more which leaves SCM worlds the only venue that a swimmer like Gretchen would compete in SCM. Realistically, other meet would she have gone to in the last two years where she would compete in SCM and be even slightly rested?
Solid.
its not really different in most other countries
No in europe, a championship in scm exits every two years and quite a lot of swimmers compete in.
World cups are normally on europe or asia as well. When there were world cup stops in North America, there was honestly pretty good attendance from US swimmers? In 2022 thats when Ledecky broke her SCM records, and was also McIntosh’s first big SCM meet after her breakout LCW.
Its not just that the US swimmers have less of a focus on it, but that world aquatics ALSO doesnt host high level meets in north or south america. its alot to ask high level junior swimmers or college swimmers to go to an asian world cup series in the fall.
Here’s a hint:
There is tons of really fast short course swimming that happens in the USA across many hundreds of college dual meets, conf meets, NCAA championship meets, high school championship meets, and USAS meets like Winter Juniors, Sectionals, Futures, NCSAs … and ALL of those meets happen in YARDS. Virtually all of the fastest swimming by Americans in the short course format happens in YARDS. Hence the “USA doesn’t compete in SCM” thing.
It is this American’s impression that short course matters more here. Everything for an excellent young swimmer is geared towards short course as the schools reward short course profiency. I could make a case that most American swimmers don’t ever see a SCM pool too so stroke count is new/rare
SCM season in Australia is when most top swimmers take their break. Granted they do not tkae a break every year, but the racing is low priority in SCM compared to the training base they get. Best swimmers rarely swim SCM tapered.
This seems like a good argument to make NCAAs SCM. The quality of NCAAs would be globally known and would better attract the global swim fan audience.
I do not think the cost would be too great at any team or facilty that seriously competes at NCAAs can just drill some extra holes like UVA did to convert their long course pool to SCM
It has been done before, in 2000 and 2004. I especially remember in 2000, a bunch of world records were set at NCAAs. I’ve wondered why the NCAA didn’t continue to do this, at least during Olympic years.
The United States, Liberia, and Myanmar are the only three countries that officially use the imperial system of measurement (yards). The rest of the world uses metric (meters).
Universal swimming standards and times will create greater international interest and financing.